Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Associació Ornitològica Picampall de les Terres de l'Ebre, Amposta, Spain.
Environ Pollut. 2022 Jan 15;293:118555. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118555. Epub 2021 Nov 19.
Gull eggs are excellent bioindicators of environmental pollution as reflect the contamination levels of coastal areas, especially of persistent and bioacumulative compounds such as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This study aims to evaluate the geographical distribution and 10-year temporal trends (2009-2018) of 17 PFAS in eggs of two gull species (Larus michahellis and Larus audouinii) from 5 main Spanish colonies. ∑PFAS ranged from 13.7 ± 5.9 to 164 ± 17 ng g wet weight and higher concentrations were observed in L. audouinii than in L. michahellis. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the predominant compound in all samples, followed by perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA) and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTriDA). Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFNA) were also found in all studied areas but at lower concentrations, while perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was only detected in the Medes Islands. Principal Component Analysis revealed the co-occurrence of the 6 detected PFAS, and differentiated samples from Ebro Delta and Medes Islands, both located in the North-Eastern Mediterranean Sea, with high contribution of all PFAS, from Chafarinas and Atlantic Islands with lower concentration levels and variability. Also, different patterns were observed among colonies, suggesting the fish-based diet plays an important role in PFAS bioaccumulation. In all colonies, except for the Medes Islands, ∑PFAS decreased through the 10-year study period, with PFOS, PFUnA, and PFTriDA showing a significant concentration reduction in a colony-specific manner. This study demonstrates the usefulness and importance of continuous systematic long-term monitoring to determine the geographical distribution and temporal variations of PFAS in marine protected areas using gull eggs as bioindicators of environmental pollution.
鸥蛋是环境污染的绝佳生物指标，因为它们反映了沿海地区的污染水平，尤其是持久性和生物累积化合物，如全氟烷基物质（PFAS）。本研究旨在评估 5 个主要西班牙鸥类繁殖地（Larus michahellis 和 Larus audouinii）鸥蛋中 17 种 PFAS 的地理分布和 10 年时间趋势（2009-2018 年）。∑PFAS 范围为 13.7±5.9 至 164±17ng/g 湿重，L. audouinii 中的浓度高于 L. michahellis。全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）是所有样品中的主要化合物，其次是全氟壬酸（PFUnA）和全氟十三烷酸（PFTriDA）。全氟十二烷酸（PFDoA）、全氟癸酸（PFDA）和全氟辛酸（PFNA）也在所有研究区域中均有发现，但浓度较低，而全氟辛烷酸（PFOA）仅在梅德斯群岛中检测到。主成分分析显示了 6 种检测到的 PFAS 的共同发生，并区分了位于东北地中海的埃布罗三角洲和梅德斯群岛的样本，这些样本的所有 PFAS 含量都很高，而恰法里纳斯群岛和大西洋群岛的样本浓度较低，变异性也较低。此外，各繁殖地之间也观察到不同的模式，表明鱼类为主的饮食在 PFAS 的生物积累中起着重要作用。在所有繁殖地中，除了梅德斯群岛，∑PFAS 在 10 年的研究期间呈下降趋势，PFOS、PFUnA 和 PFTriDA 的浓度呈特定于繁殖地的显著降低。本研究证明了使用鸥蛋作为环境污染的生物指标，通过连续系统的长期监测，在海洋保护区中确定 PFAS 的地理分布和时间变化的有用性和重要性。
